$3 A Gallon In China? The Government Pays

The Chinese Government, Scurrying To Prepare For The Olympics, Subsidizes Gas To Keep Things Running

(CBS)  China has so far been immune to the punishing price of gas thanks to a government ensuring that building for the Olympics goes full speed.

That means trucks carrying supplies must keep running, CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen reports.

Still, diesel shortages are spawning long lines.

"Sometimes," says one driver, "I wait all night in line."

China isn't defying the laws of economics; the government is subsidizing gas prices keeping them artificially low. But this week, bowing to international pressure, authorities said they'd allow gas to rise 18 percent. But even with that, a gallon of gas here is still less than three bucks.

What's not clear is whether increases at the pump will spark consumer protests -- something Chinese authorities are anxious to avoid before the Olympics.

And, despite recent increase, the Chinese still have a love affair with gas guzzling SUV's. You can still fill up a Hummer-2 for about $100 here, 30 percent less than in the United States.

All that may end once the Olympics are over if the government ends all subsidies. And Chinese drivers may finally feel the rest of the world's pain, right the pocketbook.

[republic1776]

kailumego1,
That''s called Communism...

[kailumego1]

India also subsidizes gasoline to its people, it''s the greedy U.S. corporations that don''t give a "Dam", along with their puppets, the U.S. government.

[cyberus-2009]

If the US started subsidizing fuel anyone want to bet they would start complaining about unfair practices?

[dobbershome]

**** China

[barbaraf4]

We need to respect and love the Chinese. If they ever recall their loans, we will be toast.

[omaar-101]

Crude Oil Imports (Top 15 Countries)

(Thousand Barrels per Day)

April 2008 Import Highlights: June 13, 2008
Preliminary monthly data on the origins of crude oil imports in April 2008 has been released and it shows that two countries exported more than 1.50 million barrels per day to the United States.



The top five exporting countries accounted for 69 percent of United States crude oil imports in April while the top ten sources accounted for approximately 89 percent of all U.S. crude oil imports.


The top sources of US crude oil imports for April were Canada (1.952 million barrels per day), Saudi Arabia (1.453 million barrels per day), Mexico (1.259 million barrels per day), Nigeria (1.115 million barrels per day), and Venezuela (1.019 million barrels per day).



The rest of the top ten sources, in order, were Iraq (0.679 million barrels per day), Angola (0.579 million barrels per day), Algeria (0.393 million barrels per day), Brazil (0.201 million barrels per day), and Kuwait (0.176 million barrels per day).


Total crude oil imports averaged 9.921 million barrels per day in April.



Canada remained the Largest Exporter of total petroleum in April, exporting 2.476 million barrels per day to the United States, which is a decrease from last month (2.542 thousand barrels per day).



Note: The second largest exporter of total petroleum was Saudi Arabia with 1.462 million barrels per day.

[omaar-101]

America''s..Total Imports of Petroleum Oil (Top 15 Countries)

(Thousand Barrels per Day)

Drill all You want, You can..t produce the Oil these Countries provide, nor will you see a drop in price at the gas pumps. Over 300 Million Americans, The Demand is Too Great and it will take 7-10 years to bring this Oil on shore, by that time, Gas will be 15 $ per gallon an we..ll be Riding Horse & Carriage.



Solution: Mass Train Transit North, South, East Mid West & West, like Japan, Oppose to Air Planes.



Note: Also Include Diesel & Electric Cars. Its That or the Horse & Carriage.



CANADA 1,952 1,795 1,902 1,909 1,846

SAUDI ARABIA 1,453 1,535 1,519 1,458 1,358

MEXICO 1,259 1,232 1,230 1,460 1,471

NIGERIA 1,115 1,154 1,105 891 1,089

VENEZUELA 1,019 858 990 1,182 1,070

IRAQ 679 773 693 562 488

ANGOLA 579 384 469 514 556

ALGERIA 393 247 300 530 495

BRAZIL 201 188 182 175 174

KUWAIT 176 199 218 126 187

ECUADOR 160 231 203 159 200

COLOMBIA 149 135 168 79 100

CHAD 133 101 110 80 76

RUSSIA 106 108 77 269 137

LIBYA 85 75 68 45 56

Country Apr-08 Mar-08 YTD 2008 Apr-07 YTD 2007

[zerosum2009]

X --just checking my keyboard, trouble with certain, characters.

[oneworldusa]

Kind of interesting this article is sponsored by Cadillac. I hope the Chinese buy thousands upon thousands of them.

[dobbershome]

corey2444

We all hate Saudi Arabia too.

[patriot12436]

Another point that is overlooked is the actual wages Chinese make and live on are a lot less than what people make in the U.S. I am not sure how much they make but $3 a gallon gas must be very high to them. Here in Thailand gas is about $5 a gallon now and the average wage is $3 to $11 a day. The Thai people are already protesting and i think a civil revolution will happe very soon here. They respect their king and he asked the people to remain calm which will happen for a while longer. He also asked the PM to resign as he promised he would, and hasn''t.

[dobbershome]

You can bet your last nickel these commie ba$tards will financially rape there people just like in the USA as soon as there precious Olympics are over.

[nathan8804-2009]

No actually the costs for a liter of gas in the Kingdom (Saudi Arabia) is 10 cents. Yes, folks one dime! The Economist just ran a story last week describing Saudi''s are the largest consumers for SUVs outside the USA. And they have no problem paying one dime per liter.

[cyberus-2009]

----
Typical China bashing story. What the US propaganda won''''t tell you is that you can get gas for about $.50 a gallon (yes less than 1 dollar) at Saudi Arabia.

Posted by pug_ster
----

Absolutely true ... and you may feel free to buy/rent a tanker ship and go buy as much as you like.
Let us know how much your final cost per gallon was when you finally get it home.

[missingamerica]

Typical China bashing story. What the US propaganda won''''t tell you is that you can get gas for about $.50 a gallon (yes less than 1 dollar) at Saudi Arabia.

Posted by pug_ster at 11:39 PM : Jun 22, 2008

lollll...you imply that there is nothing like the cost of shipping to create a difference in prices between the source and the various destinations...

Methinks you prematurely swung the China basher...